Final Kingdom Read Free Page A

I will have guides for you. Will you do this for me?”
    Josh suddenly felt refreshed. The very presence of the tall man, and the warmth of his eyes, and the power that seemed to flow through him strengthened the boy. He said sturdily, “We will follow your orders as long as we draw breath, Goél!”
    â€œThat’s my faithful Joshua!” Goél said warmly. “The Seven Sleepers are indeed my pride!”

2
Council of the Dark Lord
    F ar to the north of the Plains of Dothan, where Goél had summoned his subjects, a land fierce and terrible rose up out of the broken tableland. The trees of that land were withered and stunted, as if compressed by the air into bent, twisted shapes. Birds that would sing merrily in brighter lands avoided the place. The only sounds from the air above were the harsh croakings of ravens as they crisscrossed the somber skies.
    Travelers avoided this fearsome country, though to do so meant detouring hundreds of miles through difficult terrain—and those who were caught in it by night sometimes did not live to regret it. When the moon arose, strange beasts, foul and unnatural, issued from caverns in the depths of this blasted land. It was a deadly country, feared and despised by those inhabitants of Nuworld who had the misfortune to find themselves within its borders.
    Winter gales swept across the bleak, hostile environment, chilling to the bone and almost freezing the teeth of unfortunate travelers. In the fall, the winds pushed across the landscape as if seeking to shove travelers off the narrow mountain paths into the valleys of broken rock far below. Spring and summer, a time of joy and beauty in other parts of Nuworld, brought forth only blistering sunshine that cooked the rocks and baked the faces of those who hurried across the region.
    Far inland in the center of this terrible land, a circleof jagged mountains ringed a castle that rose out of the stones of the earth. The mountains, which served as a fortress wall against any who would attack, were broken by only three passes, kept guarded at all times by the servants of the Dark Lord. Woe be to those who attempted to pass through! Those who did come were more often brought as prisoners—and most were never seen again.
    The castle itself was made of solid stone. No one knew how long it had stood there, but its rocks were blasted gray with age and crumbled with the fierce snows and blistering suns that had beaten upon them. Nor did anyone know
how
such a fortress was built. Those who studied it could only be puzzled, for it would have taken thousands of men thousands of years to build such a structure. Its turrets pierced the sky like daggers, and the rounded walls of those towers were slitted to allow bowmen to deal swift death to any who would attack. At times foul smoke would issue from the chimneys, choking those who had the misfortune to breathe it. Neither plant nor animal could endure its stench for long.
    The Dread Tower rose like a skeletal finger in the center, and from its crest the entire land could be surveyed by the Dark Lord and his henchmen.
    Inside that tower all was massive stone. Steps carved out of rock led down deep, deep, deep into the bowels of the earth, where dungeons kept their terrible secrets forever. Cries and muted screams rose from these chambers far beneath the Dread Tower. There was at least one huge room, known to none but the Dark Lord himself, where a massive brass gate was bolted to the solid rock, strong enough to secure any living thing. At times the Dark Lord would come and put his baleful eye on the huge gate.
    The most cheerful spot in the Dread Tower was the council room. It was here the Dark Lord summoned his commanders from time to time to plot his strategy for overthrowing Goél and his House. Even now, that wicked crew sat around tables, tearing at food like vicious animals and swilling down dark, strong liquor.
    The Dark Lord did not join in these riotous